Tuesday, April 26, 2011

FOODFIC: Halfway to the Grave - Jeaniene Frost

Forget food; this book is all about the drinks. And even though Catherine Crawfield is half-vampire, you can forget about the blood, too. Oh, there’s blood being drunk, alright – no Bones* about it – but it’s the least interesting beverage on the menu.

You might be surprised to hear that in this very fresh, modern piece of paranormalcy, the drink that caught my attention was moonshine.

One of the scenes in HttG is when vampire-hunter Cat has to get information from a ghost about recent killings that she’s looking into. The ghost, who was hanged in the sixties when one of his clients OD’ed on his moonshine, will only talk to Cat if she brings him moonshine. (And yes, she does tell him, You’re dead and you’re still an alcoholic. That’s so dysfunctional. Cat’s an easy heroine to like.)

So the cool thing about the scene is the delivery of the “white lightning”: Cat drinks it, and the ghost passes through her throat at the same time so he can “taste” it. And it’s not just a “float-through” – her throat is left burning from both the ghost and the liquor.

I just love when paranormal authors (sorry – authors who are themselves normal, but write about the paranormal) find a new angle for an old concept. Frost actually makes up quite a few of her own rules in her vampire/ghost/ghoul realm, and all of them are easier to swallow than moonshine. :)

*You have to read the book to get that.
**Most of the books discussed on this blog are YA, but this book is ADULTS ONLY.